About 50 shops have been destroyed in a fresh fire outbreak at the Fatima Simra Multi-Purpose Market, located in the Dakata Small Scale Enterprises area of Kano.
It was reported that the incident occurred in the early hours of Friday, with the blaze said to have started around 4 a.m., according to the chairman of the market’s fire committee, Dauda Haruna Chula.
According to Chula, most of the affected shops were occupied by small-scale operators involved in oil production and the recycling of plastics and nylon materials, which characterized the business area.
“The fire was noted at about 4 am on Friday. As we speak, the fire was still burning, leaving dozens of shops already reduced to ashes. And from our preliminary assessment, about 50 shops have been destroyed and the fire is yet to be contained. We are expecting officials of the Kano State Fire Service,” he stated.
He added that the market authorities had contacted the fire service and other relevant agencies immediately after the outbreak was noticed, and they confirmed they were aware of the situation.
While the full scale of losses and any possible casualties are yet to be determined at the time of filing this report, traders lamented what they described as a delayed emergency response by the fire service. And this latest incident is coming barely a week after a major fire at the popular Singa Market.
